Balcony neighbor horror stories

[WetToes]

... it seems that they could limit smoking to balconies on one side of a ship thus giving cruisers a choice.

 

This has been brought up MANY times ... most agree it would not work.

[babyher]

This has been brought up MANY times ... most agree it would not work.

 

I am not trying to start an argument, I am just curious . Why wouldn't it work? I have seen the posts that say "it will never happen" or "It wouldn't work" but never got a clear reason why

[ryano]

it seems that they could limit smoking to balconies on one side of a ship thus giving cruisers a choice.

 

Im not sure how this would be feasible. When I quit smoking 4 years ago, smokers were a minority. I can only imagine its even moreso now.

 

There simply would be no way to dedicate a full one side of the ship of balcony staterooms to smokers only.

 

While smoking on balconies seems to be a huge problem to non smokers, I cant imagine there are enough smokers cruising today to fill one whole side of a ships balcony staterooms.

 

It seems like to me it would be easier just to ban smoking on balconies totally. No matter what, there really is no win for RCI with this issue.

[HB Cruiser]

When I posted this thread I had no idea what would become of it. I have learned a lot about what to do and what not to do:rolleyes:.

 

Now let's see if we can continue on with balcony stories without mentioning the forbidden words (smoke' date=' smokers, cigarettes, cigars, smoking etc). [/quote']

 

OMG everyone, please, out of respect of the Jojo's Mama, the originator of this thread, lets get back to the original issue.

 

All of us know smoking is a hot topic and gets beat on constantly. Let's get back to talking about extrodinary neighbors, both good and bad, and leave the smoking out of it.

 

I want to read about all those neighbors that were either extremely good or extremely bad. :) Oh yes, and your thoughts as to why. :D

 

Tim

[ryano]

I am not trying to start an argument, I am just curious . Why wouldn't it work? I have seen the posts that say "it will never happen" or "It wouldn't work" but never got a clear reason why

 

Because IMO, there are probably WAY more non smokers on balconies than there are smokers. What do they do with the unsold cabins on the smoking side? :confused:

 

I too do not see how it could possibly work.

[k9x8]

I guess in order to meet that 50% compromise, they should get a spreadsheet and come up with a plan and schedule times of when they are going to use the balcony,

 

It gets far more complex. You must include the neighbors on both sides of you. Don't forget that you may also have smokers below you and cloggers above.

 

Life is complicated. :p

[CntPAcruiser]

I am not trying to start an argument, I am just curious . Why wouldn't it work? I have seen the posts that say "it will never happen" or "It wouldn't work" but never got a clear reason why

 

The reasoning is that the nonsmoking side would book up first, leaving those who would have preferred nonsmoking with no choice but to book on the smoking side if they want a balcony. It's similar to the situation with smoking/nonsmoking sections in restaurants, where often there is a wait for nonsmoking but no wait in the smoking section.

[babyher]

OMG everyone, please, out of respect of the Jojo's Mama, the originator of this thread, lets get back to the original issue.

 

All of us know smoking is a hot topic and gets beat on constantly. Let's get back to talking about extrodinary neighbors, both good and bad, and leave the smoking out of it.

 

I want to read about all those neighbors that were either extremely good or extremely bad. :) Oh yes, and your thoughts as to why. :D

 

Tim

 

 

 

 

Ok I was on my balcony one day and my lighter ran out of fluid, so I leaned over to the guy in the balcony next to me and said "Hey pal , can I bum a light ?" and he gave me one. :)

 

Such a kind and generous man

[yj2cute]

The reasoning is that the nonsmoking side would book up first, leaving those who would have preferred nonsmoking with no choice but to book on the smoking side if they want a balcony. It's similar to the situation with smoking/nonsmoking sections in restaurants, where often there is a wait for nonsmoking but no wait in the smoking section.

 

Thank God where I live, ALL restaurants, and public buildings for that matter, are NON-SMOKING! :D

[Paul65]

Be as smug as you want. Like my dad used to say , one day you will try it with the wrong person (and it won't be on the internet)

 

Thanks. Likewise, be as judgmental and spiteful as you want. But be careful...one day you might try it with the wrong person. :cool:

[ryano]

. It's similar to the situation with smoking/nonsmoking sections in restaurants, where often there is a wait for nonsmoking but no wait in the smoking section.

 

Extremely off topic but Is there actually still places like that? Here in Ga, ALL smoking inside public places has been banned. No more smoking/non smoking sections anywhere.

[Paul65]

Im not sure how this would be feasible. When I quit smoking 4 years ago, smokers were a minority. I can only imagine its even moreso now.

 

There simply would be no way to dedicate a full one side of the ship of balcony staterooms to smokers only.

 

While smoking on balconies seems to be a huge problem to non smokers, I cant imagine there are enough smokers cruising today to fill one whole side of a ships balcony staterooms.

 

It seems like to me it would be easier just to ban smoking on balconies totally. No matter what, there really is no win for RCI with this issue.

 

While it may not be a perfect solution, I too find it a bit odd that some people reject this so quickly. If the majority of people are non-smokers, why is it better to have smoking allowed on all balconies than on only 50% of balconies? At least some of the passengers would be able to make that choice. It's also possible they could restrict smoking to only a section of one side (say, starboard aft balconies) to try to match the demand.

 

You'd still have some people unhappy with it, but it would be somewhat of a compromise.

[babyher]

The reasoning is that the nonsmoking side would book up first, leaving those who would have preferred nonsmoking with no choice but to book on the smoking side if they want a balcony. It's similar to the situation with smoking/nonsmoking sections in restaurants, where often there is a wait for nonsmoking but no wait in the smoking section.

 

When there is something you want bad enough you book early and make sure you get it.

 

Same with theater /concert/movie seats .

[windham depot]

Okay! We had quite the Experience on our Carnival Splendor Cruise in August of 2011. We always get balcony Staterooms, I spend a lot of time out there. Never had an issue until this cruise. We had the first most forward cabin with a small public balcony area ahead of us. My Husband and I were relaxing in our cabin when I saw a shadow on our balcony, a girl in her early 20s was climbing over the public balcony on to our balcony, she had already dropped her purse onto our balcony. My husband went out and asked her if she was crazy! We were in port so the ship wasn't moving but, if she had fallen, well you all know what the result would have been. He picked up her purse and told her to go back where she came from. We called Security, it turned out she was in the cabin next to ours and was locked out of her cabin. Security took this issue surprisingly very, very seriously. I can't believe that someone would be stupid enough to do something like that. In my opinion I think she had been drinking and had a fight with her boyfriend who she was cruising with. CRAZY!

 

Rhonda

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

Ok I was on my balcony one day and my lighter ran out of fluid, so I leaned over to the guy in the balcony next to me and said "Hey pal , can I bum a light ?" and he gave me one. :)

 

Such a kind and generous man

 

Hahahaha! We needed this!

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

Okay! We had quite the Experience on our Carnival Splendor Cruise in August of 2011. We always get balcony Staterooms, I spend a lot of time out there. Never had an issue until this cruise. We had the first most forward cabin with a small public balcony area ahead of us. My Husband and I were relaxing in our cabin when I saw a shadow on our balcony, a girl in her early 20s was climbing over the public balcony on to our balcony, she had already dropped her purse onto our balcony. My husband went out and asked her if she was crazy! We were in port so the ship wasn't moving but, if she had fallen, well you all know what the result would have been. He picked up her purse and told her to go back where she came from. We called Security, it turned out she was in the cabin next to ours and was locked out of her cabin. Security took this issue surprisingly very, very seriously. I can't believe that someone would be stupid enough to do something like that. In my opinion I think she had been drinking and had a fight with her boyfriend who she was cruising with. CRAZY!

 

Rhonda

 

And this! Shocking :eek:

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[The Sunset Glow]

Techically, cigarette smoke would be an irritant to some people and not an allergen.

 

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/allergies/allergy-basics/cigarette-allergy-symptoms.htm

 

From this page:

 

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/asthma/allergens/smoke/

 

"People with allergies may be more sensitive to cigarette smoke than others and research studies indicate that smoking may aggravate allergies."

 

So it is not that people are allergic to cigarette smoke but rather it is the case that it aggravates other allergies.

 

Btw, from everyhing I read about this smoking ... It is not good for you!

 

:)

 

Yes, I have "irritant induced asthma" which I got from being exposed to mold in a workplace. I am triggered mostly by tobacco smoke, car exhaust, strong cleaners, aerosol sprays and if I get a cold or flu.

 

Campfire smoke does not trigger an attack unless there's a lot of smoke (we have a fire pit in our back yard so this theory has been tested;)).

 

I don't know why some things trigger an asthma attack and some don't - I just know they do.:confused:

[rickdent]

While it may not be a perfect solution, I too find it a bit odd that some people reject this so quickly. If the majority of people are non-smokers, why is it better to have smoking allowed on all balconies than on only 50% of balconies? At least some of the passengers would be able to make that choice. It's also possible they could restrict smoking to only a section of one side (say, starboard aft balconies) to try to match the demand.

 

You'd still have some people unhappy with it, but it would be somewhat of a compromise.

 

I do also believe that one side of the ship's balconies should be nonsmoking as well. That was Celebrity's policy prior to banning cabin smoking altogether. I am a smoker and would have no objection to at least trying this option.

I also believe that the % of smokers on RCCL ships would be higher than the general cruise population because we are "funneled" there due to nonsmoking policies of other cruise lines. We need compromises--banning smoking WILL cost them some money.

Rick

[HB Cruiser]

I do also believe that one side of the ship's balconies should be nonsmoking as well.

 

........ We need compromises--banning smoking WILL cost them some money.

Rick

 

I am a nonsmoker Rick and I DO AGREE with you. Smokers MUST be accomodated somehow on a ship. I'm unfortunately not the person to come up with the best plan or I would not be here at work today. ;)

 

Tim

[LovesCruising]

Ok I was on my balcony one day and my lighter ran out of fluid, so I leaned over to the guy in the balcony next to me and said "Hey pal , can I bum a light ?" and he gave me one. :)

 

Such a kind and generous man

 

:):)

[Starry Eyes]

As a nonsmoker, the idea of a non smoking side superficially might appeal to me. But it just is not so simple. Sometimes one side of ship is more desirable for that cruise (scenery or sunnier or whatever); do the smokers or nonsmokers get that side? And if the nonsmoking side is full before I book (or those rooms are being held by travel agencies), do I book a balcony on the smoking side, knowing the smoker, and therefore the smoke, are concentrated there? Concentrate the smokers in a quadrant of the ship, for example) and one just concentrates that issue, too. And some cruises (especially theme cruises or ones with large group bookings) might have way more (or fewer) smoker that the next week, making hard for the cruiseline to allocate space. Nice suites are often arranged asymmetrically; would somebody spend big bucks to be in a suite on the side that is wrong for them? I have often happily booked category X (balcony guarantee) in the past; would I still do that? And would a smoker book X? Clearly cruiselines thought of a smoking side, but they probably won't do it because of profit and logistically issues.

 

Because the smokers are spread out and because many are light smokers or considerate smokers or active, out-and-about smokers, I have only once been impacted substantially by smoking neighbors; even then, I found other places to hang out. Since I have cruised with balconies many times, I consider it a good record.

[xcell]

there's no smoking in the rooms but what happens if the rooms smells like smoke because of the previous smokers clothes, etc...???

[Luvmesomeme]

Thanks to those who share their BALCONY stories. I really enjoyed them.Thank you Tim for being a voice of reason. For the others who used this as a way to debate, argue etc.:(

[KBD1516]

The last cruise I was on my neighbors were very very noisy for the first 2 days. One evening they were screaming back and forth about which excursion to choose: the teenager wanted something different than the parent. After about a half hour of listening to them, another balcony person yelled to tell them to just go separate and then show each other their pictures at dinner Dunno what that family decided but Things got very quiet and stayed quiet the rest of the cruise.

 

Maybe sometimes people don't realize that balconies are not very private, especially when the occupants are having a heated protracted discussion.

[Luvmesomeme]

The last cruise I was on my neighbors were very very noisy for the first 2 days. One evening they were screaming back and forth about which excursion to choose: the teenager wanted something different than the parent. After about a half hour of listening to them, another balcony person yelled to tell them to just go separate and then show each other their pictures at dinner Dunno what that family decided but Things got very quiet and stayed quiet the rest of the cruise.

 

Maybe sometimes people don't realize that balconies are not very private, especially when the occupants are having a heated protracted discussion.

 

 

Nothing like a reality check to bring you back to the fact that others exist around you. Must have been quite embarrassing.